Charlie Goman, owner of Second Profession Brewing, has a background in homebrewing. He hopes to build a following based on the German/Northwest gastropub model. Photos by Pete Dunlop

By Pete DunlopFor the Oregon Beer Growler

One of Portland’s newest beer stops is Second Profession Brewing Company, now open on Northeast Sandy Boulevard in the space formerly occupied by BTU Brasserie. Owner Charlie Goman, a homebrewer with Wisconsin roots, hopes to build a following based on the German/Northwest gastropub model.

“I started homebrewing about 10 years ago,” Goman said. “About five years ago, I started to take it seriously. I love making beer and I hope Second Profession will provide a unique experience for visitors with good beers and comfort food.”

Beer fans will recall BTU, which operated for a couple of years as a brewpub with Chinese-style food. It was an interesting concept, but the owners were never quite able to successfully meld the business' two identities. BTU shuttered last spring. A sign on the door said, "Closed for Spring Cleaning," but the place shuttered permanently and went up for sale.

Goman saw instant potential in a location with a brewery already installed. He had become bored with his career in copier sales and IT-related work. At 28, he started looking at options. One day while brewing an IPA, it dawned on him that maybe beer making was his future.

“Stumbling on the mothballed BTU space was a stroke of luck. It's no small thing to find an arrangement like this,” he said. “It means I didn’t have to come in and spend a ton of money on brewing equipment and building prep. Having operated as a brewery, this place was ready to roll.”

The pub layout is pretty much as it was in the BTU era. It's a bit brighter now, with white walls and modern-themed German folk artwork. The sidewalk patio on the eastside of the building remains. The brewery, a 7-barrel system, has been cleaned up and tuned up with the assistance of Marc Martin from Northwest Brewery Advisors.

“Marc has been amazing,” Goman said. “He made a few slight fixes and changes to the brewing system and has been a great resource for recipe development and techniques. He helped me scale up my homebrew recipes up to commercial level.”

Simplistic German comfort food will be the focus (besides the beer) at Second Profession Brewing. The business opened in October.

The beers will include a mix of standards and seasonals. Recent offerings include a rye IPA, a pale ale, a farmhouse ale and a hazy IPA. The brewery has horizontal lager tanks and Goman expects to make use of them soon.

“I plan to have five standards and three seasonal/specialty beers on most of the time,” said Goman. “Beyond that, cold room space would be an issue, though I do have a large walk-in where some beer could go. The beers are a work in progress.”

Goman has no plans to enter outside distribution anytime soon, beyond growlers and crowlers sold in the pub. He hopes to develop a good collection of beers that build a following. Eventually, he may send some of his more well-received styles out to notable beer bars and pubs to extend identity reach.

“Packaged beer isn’t part of the plan,” he said. “I know my primary profit center is in-house, not in distribution outside the pub, so that’s where the focus will be.”

Food will be a crucial factor. The clientele in this underserved area is more likely to be attracted by food than by beer, regardless of how good or bad the beer is. Goman intends to offer simplistic German comfort food, a concept connected to his experience living in Wisconsin.

“We’re not looking to imitate Gustav’s or Stammtisch or Prost,” Goman said. “Our menu will include a selection of sausages, warm potato salad, garlic fries and some greens. We want customers to get a hearty meal, but we’ll be big on simplicity.”

The name has been the subject of interest on social media and some blogs. “Second Profession” doesn’t pack a lot of excitement. But Goman's sees the brewery as his second career. It's personal and, on that level, it makes good sense.

Second Profession opened in early October and operated on a limited beer and food menu for the first couple of weeks. Both menus have been expanded. The pub is open 4-10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 4-9 p.m. Sunday. Happy hour runs 4-6 p.m. each day.